


The foxes have their burrows

by manekineko77



Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, M/M, Mizuki being Mizuki, Pre-Relationship, bearded Kakashi, war veteran Kakashi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2020-01-13 10:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,181
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18466888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manekineko77/pseuds/manekineko77
Summary: On a spring morning, Iruka sees a strange man in a tree. It would be a start of an eventful year.





	The foxes have their burrows

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Go Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16790896) by [dahtwitchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahtwitchi/pseuds/dahtwitchi). 
  * Inspired by [Go Home](https://archiveofourown.org/works/16790896) by [dahtwitchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/dahtwitchi/pseuds/dahtwitchi). 



> This story takes place in some strange hybrid country that is half Japan and half my home country, since the school year ends in summer and begins in September, and the school system is 4+4+4 instead of 6+3+3 as in Japan. Unbeated, ‘cause the deadline creeped up on me.

Looking back, Iruka couldn't really remember when he first saw the man. The way to Konoha South Elementary led Iruka through the Yoyogi Park even before his recent move, and the man had certainly lived there for years. But Iruka did remember when he noticed him first – it was springtime, a year ago, the blossoms had just started to scatter, and Iruka had stopped to admire the blooms. And there the man was, lounging along the thickest side-branch of the old plum tree as if he was on his own couch, instead of three meters above the ground in the middle of a public park. His legs crossed, his right arm hanging freely, and his left hand, holding a paperback, resting on his forehead as he gazed at gently waving branches above him. He seemed unreal and Iruka must have made ~~a gasp~~ a sound, since the man turned to face him and slowly waved his right hand at Iruka, presumably smiling behind the bushy beard that covered most of his face. Then he turned his attention back to the blooming branches above, while bell-tower chime reminded Iruka that he should hurry if he’s not to be late for the first class.

Teaching homeroom to first-to-four-graders was attention-consuming at the best of times, so the mysterious tree man slipped Iruka’s mind until he saw him again on a Saturday evening, sitting on a blanket by the path and busking, if one could call it that. The melancholy melody he played on his flute did not seem to be aimed at passers-by, but rather like a meditation, shared freely but not intended to please or solicit. Much more adept at pleasing and soliciting was a pug lying on the blanket next to the man, giving pleading looks to likely passers-by and offering himself for pets and caresses when they caved in to his ugly cuteness. This strange business model seemed to work well enough, as there were several notes and a handful of coins in a metal plate next to the man and his pug, and another note joined them as Iruka approached, from a couple dressed up for an outing. Iruka himself was dressed in his “home use only” tracksuit and had hands full of grocery bags, so he could only nod in passing at the man and the pug.

After that he started paying more attention, and sure enough, the man was a regular in the park, whether lounging under or in the trees, playing his flute while a dog made puppy-eyes at the passers-by (Iruka couldn’t tell if those were all his dogs, if some were strays, or if there even was a difference), or simply passing through the park on some business of his own, alone or with a canine companion or two. Iruka was pretty sure that the man was homeless and living in woody depths of the Yoyogi Park, since he had the hermit look down pat: uncombed long hair and a bushy never-trimmed beard, always the same clothes (a military camo with all marks carefully removed), solid but worn military boots and the look of utter unconcern with the world. Iruka was somewhat worried when he saw him lounging in the trees near the park playground, enough to raise the question among his fellow teachers, but they assured him that the man was well known and harmless to children. Less so to the bullies, it would appear, since Iruka witnessed him deftly pelting a couple of high schoolers with acorns until they gave up their petty plan of terrorising a group of eight-year-olds playing football in the park. Iruka’s pupils also knew the man, or at least knew of him, as the stories of The Hound circulated through the school and were passed on from generation to generation.

So Iruka became a nodding acquaintance with The Hound, giving him some change occasionally in exchange for more-or-less enthusiastic doggie greetings. And it would have remained so if it weren’t for the Naruto incident.

 

It was summer, the end of the school year was nigh, and Naruto’s generation was set to graduate fourth grade and advance from Iruka’s supervision. It was a bittersweet time for Iruka – this was his first generation, he took them over from the first grade when he came to Konoha, first as an assistant teacher to old Shibaraki, and from the second grade onwards as their sole homeroom teacher. There were all good kids, if occasionally headache inducing, and working with them helped him weather his personal crisis with Mizuki. Mizuki, whom he followed to Konoha and to teaching. Mizuki, who he lived together with. Mizuki, whose infidelity he discovered on their second Christmas together. Mizuki, whose presence and insincere attempts at appeasement he had to endure for another half year until he could finally find a place of his own. The place wasn’t more than a room with a sleeping alcove, a tiny bathroom and a surprisingly useful kitchen/hallway combination, but it had a door that Mizuki didn’t have a key to. Due to severe lack of space Iruka had to keep most of his possessions in storage, but after almost two years the place was home.

Even though their history soured Iruka’s opinion of Mizuki, he never expected ~~the creep~~ the teacher to act so unprofessionally and vent his frustration onto a child. Naruto was the loudest and the most trying of Iruka’s pupils, but also the one he grew the closest with once he discovered what lay behind the boisterous and defiant façade. Naruto was orphaned when barely a week old, in a terrible fire that swept through Konoha in the aftermath of Great Hinokuni Earthquake. The death toll was enormous, partly due to procedural and construction failures, and so media and families of victims cried out for those responsible to be punished. The official inquiry managed to assign most of the blame to Konoha’s mayor Minato Namikaze, who had conveniently died in the fire and was thus unable to defend himself. He was survived by his girlfriend, Kushina Uzumaki, and their newborn son Naruto, but Kushina soon followed Minato due to a postpartum infection exacerbated by grief and shortage of medication in the wake of the disaster. Minato being an orphan himself and Kushina being a refugee from war-torn Uzushio, baby Naruto was left with no family to care for him and under an umbrage as scion of the man who had caused so much suffering by his careless management of the city. Iruka was incensed to discover that some adults openly expressed their disdain and anger towards an innocent child, but even those who refrained from that treated Naruto with more distance and coldness than they would another child. And, perceptive little boy that he was, Naruto felt that and started to act out in pure self-defence. Iruka couldn’t help seeing the sullen teenage himself in the boy and so began approaching him and building a relationship that went beyond a teacher – pupil one. Naruto flowered under the attention and soon Iruka found himself an unofficial big brother to the boy. He had even toyed with the idea of officially adopting Naruto once he was no longer his teacher, but his current quarters and financial situation made that impossible.

Apparently, and unbeknownst to Iruka, Mizuki had started blaming Naruto for Iruka’s steadfast aloofness towards his former lover. Mizuki grew jealous of their bond and the bitterness finally exploded when Naruto’s little gang of prankers, in celebration of their graduation, showered a group of less-than-beloved teachers with some smelly goo. Furious, Mizuki chased down Naruto, grabbed the boy and, as Iruka later learned from the witnesses, started whispering all sorts of cruel things into his ear. Naruto’s eyes filled with tears as he unsuccessfully tried to free himself from Mizuki’s relentless grip, shouting that it was not true, to let him go. Mizuki gloatingly said to the boy that no one could really love the little monster that he was, that Iruka only did what he had to make Naruto easier to deal with, and that now he no longer was his teacher Iruka would drop Naruto as a hot potato and never speak to him again. Upon hearing this, Naruto (according to witnesses) gave Mizuki a look of such hate that the man froze for a moment, which gave Naruto enough leeway to first kick Mizuki in the kneecap, then headbutt him in the stomach (or a bit lower) and finally to break free and run away in tears. Iruka had heard the commotion and arrived on the scene to find Mizuki curled in from pain, several gooey teachers and frightened children looking on aghast, and Naruto nowhere to be found.

Iruka had soon learned the whole story and, with principal Sarutobi’s blessing, took off to look for the boy. A phonecall to the orphanage yielded no results, nor did distraught visits to all their usual hangouts, from Teuchi’s ramen shop to the Yoyogi Park playground. His stomach churning with fright, Iruka gripped his phone and desperately tried to think of a place or a person Naruto could run to. As he was looking to and fro in attempt to summon a solution, a dog strolled from the bushes and woofed at Iruka. At first Iruka didn’t pay him any attention, but on the third woof he looked more closely and recognised The Hound’s pug. The pug looked at him expectantly and then headed back into bushes, turning along the way to see if Iruka followed him. So Iruka did, finding it more than a little surreal but also filled with reluctant hope. The pug marched quite quickly through the undergrowth away from the paths, forcing Iruka to duck and weave through the branches as he followed. After several minutes, they broke through the thicket onto a secluded clearing, surrounded by dense bushes and shaded by trees older than the park itself. Below a beech tree there stood a half-shack-half-tent, with a firepit gently smoking not far from the entrance. The clearing appeared deserted, but it was obvious that somebody lived there, and it really was no mystery who that could be. Iruka cleared his throat, called out an excuse for trespassing, and when no reply came, started to call for Naruto, again with no reply. But the pug sat near the firepit and lolled his tongue at Iruka, so, his heart in his throat, Iruka advanced towards the makeshift abode, softly calling for Naruto. He had to bend down in order to enter through the hanging cover, and he was intensely relieved to hear sniffing emanating from a small bundle of bedding which was surrounded by a couple of dogs, a small one nosing the apparent front of the bundle and the other dozing alongside it. Iruka knelt by the bundle and started caressing it (and the nosying dog), calling softly for Naruto again. The bundle stopped sniffing and wrapped itself even more tightly, akin to a pill-bug. Iruka started talking to the Naruto-bundle, saying how Mizuki had only wanted to hurt Naruto, that there was no truth to anything he said, that Naruto most certainly was not a monster and, above all, that Iruka loved him and wanted to be his family for ever and ever. The pill-bug slowly relaxed as Iruka spoke, until finally a snotty and blotched face peeked out from the bedding and tremulously asked “Really?”

“Really”, confirmed Iruka, more than little tearful himself. Naruto launched himself into Iruka’s arms, wailing loudly and spooking the nosying dog a little, while the dozing dog only flickered his ear and curled in a bit more tightly to continue with the nap. Iruka rocked Naruto and crooned reassuring nonsense to the boy, attempting to chase away all of Mizuki’s meanness. When Naruto finally calmed down, they exited the tent hand in hand and looked around the clearing. The pug was gone as well, the thin thread of smoke from the firepit being the only sign of life. But Iruka was quite certain that the man who could lounge on a branch could also conceal himself in the foliage, and that the man who would chase off bullies from a playground would not leave a distraught child unguarded. So he bowed, thanking loudly and clearly The Hound for taking care of Naruto. The boy joined as well, thanking The Hound and the dogs (by name! and wasn’t that an interesting titbit) and promising to see them soon and bring them treats. Naruto then led Iruka away from the clearing towards more populated parts of the park, taking a somewhat easier path than the pug did, and happily chattering. Iruka took one last look at the clearing, smiled, and followed Naruto, inquiring about the dogs and, eventually, about The Hound.

The peace returned to the clearing, the branches swaying in the breeze and sparrows chirping in the trees. The small dog peeked out of the tent, sniffed around a bit, spotted a butterfly and started yipping after it. Apart from that, nothing moved in the summer heat.

**Author's Note:**

> There will be a second chapter, from Kakashi’s POW, because this world ate my brain. Bearded bum Kakashi was inspired by dahtwitchi’s bearded Tobirama – go check her(?) stuff, there’s some Kakairu, Gai/Iruka, and all of it is really, really good.


End file.
